People’s Choice Award 2023 Gold £20-50 million
Prior's Court is seeking funding for an innovative and ground-breaking performing arts centre – a bespoke on-site facility to help transform the lives of young people with complex autism.
We have a strong track record of helping our young people achieve things beyond imagination through our arts provision - from writing our own anthem for autism Let Me Shine, re-recording the song at the historic Abbey Road Studios, and staging on-site music festivals. Our young people’s lives have been greatly enriched by these once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.
Many of our young people are non-verbal and the arts provides a magnificent outlet for expressing their needs, wants and emotions.
But individuals with autism face many barriers to accessing the arts – from light and noise sensitivities, to understanding of social rules. The arts should be inclusive but, right now for one reason or another, for people with autism, that is just not the case.
In this short film, the family of Jamie, one of the young adults at Prior's Court, explain how the performing arts have given Jamie not just incredible experiences like recording a single at Abbey Road but also how it has changed his day-to-day life. After being taken into care the age of 10, Jamie's life has been transformed at Prior's Court and access to the performing arts has been a key driver of this.
The family also explain how a specialist performing arts centre at charity-run Prior's Court could change the lives of more young people with complex autism.
Prior’s Court is a registered charity providing education and residential care for young people with complex autism, aged 5-25. Set within a 50 acre site in Berkshire, we have extensive bespoke facilities to help our young people to be healthy, happy, more independent and have the opportunity to work.
Prior’s Court is here to transform the lives of the young people with complex autism in our care; to help them achieve the impossible and give their families the magic moments they never thought they would have.
We understand that the little things are actually the big things for a young person with autism, and we celebrate them as major milestones. A daily life skill gained or an anxiety conquered today is a stepping stone towards tomorrow’s work placement, or a shared special occasion with family.
Prior’s Court never stays still. We are ambitious for our young people and aspire to be a global leader for young people with complex autism. We want to deliver outcomes for them beyond our imagination; to help transform the lives of even more young people with autism, and develop practice improvements which we can share across the world.
We align with the following UN Sustainable Development Goals:
